Filter



March 23, 1954 v J. K. RUSSELL FILTER Filed April 16, 1952 www m w m l ETH,

w ff W w J i 2v w o 0@ o o 0 o o @A 9 Q 2 z /d\ f( w LL@ ff W W K. Russa/ BY HIS HTTORNEKS. HARK/5, K/Ec/, FOSTER & Heem @Y A Patented Mar. 23, y1954 Luber-Fner Incorporated,` Los a corporation of' California Angeles, Calif.,

Application April jre, 1952, serial No. 282,531

This application is a continuation-in-'part of my Vco-pe'nding application lSerial No. 206,105`for Filter and Method of Making Same, led Jan]- uary l5, 1951, now abandoned. Q This invention relates to improvements in filters and filter elements. Y

The filter element of my invention is designed particularly for removing foreign matter from uids and sincev the fundamental concepts in-y volved are particularly applicable to Vfilters for removing foreign matter vsuspended in the oil employed for lubricating internal combustion engines, I prefer to consider such embodiments herein for convenience in disclosing the rinf vention. However, since the embodiments considered herein are susceptible of various ,other applications and since my disclosure will enable those skilled in the art to practice my invention in other forms, it will be understood that I do not intend to restrict my invention to the particular embodiments in the eld considered herein.

In prior art filter elements it has been conventional to utilize a lter body consisting largely ofshredded materials such as paper, cotton, andl other conventional lter materials. The utilization of such shredded materials necessitates the provision of fine mesh retaining meansfor'pre-- venting portions of said materials from being carried out of the filter body with the filtered lubricant to the internal combustion engine with Which the lter element is associated. y i

4It is, therefore,"a primary objectkof my inven'- tion to provide a filter element which incorporates a lter body constituted by a pluralityof wads'.

of material of such size that the necessity'of providing fine mesh retaining means to prevent the dislodgement of said Wads from the Vfilter body-into the lubricant being ltered iselimihated. Y

In conventional lter elements which. incorporate a filter body constituted by a mass of shredded lter material, the continued `iiovv of lubricant through mation of' by-pass channels in the filter body through which iluid maybe by-passed, resulting in the bil-passing of non-filtered lubricant back'V tothe internalV combustion engine with AWhichassociated.v By the WordsA the lter element is u by-pass channels, as used herein, I mean large passages which are accidently formed in the filter 4body asv distinguished siicesflfan@ Ifioids- 1 so' llge fasV to` prevent of applicationv the lter body causes the for-iv from filtering interf y 'I he by-pass channels aref' the ,fiuidirom being prop` erly rfiltered` While the nterstices and'voids 'are looiaibms. (ci. 21o-131) l L :zv suiciently constricted u ing action and permit suicient flow to exceed the contamination rate of the engine.

`Another object of' myr invention is the "pro vision of a filter body constituted by a'plurality of wads of filter material which are so disposed in 'relationship Withone another that the pos- Sibmty of the Creation .OfbY-pass channels there,-l

between is eliminated, thus eliminatingthepssibility of the by-passing of non-filtered lubricant through the lter and its return to the internal combustion engine in unltered condition.` An additional object of my invention is the provision of a filter element of the aforementioned type iniwhich the individual Wadsofgfilter material Which constitute the filter body are so compressed, one against the other, that Athe entire peripheral surface of any one wad of iilter material` is substantially contacted by theadjacent peripheries of adjacent Wads of filter material to prevent ,the existence therebetweenof by-pass channels through which lubricating uid can be by-passed, while still permitting the exfistence of interstices and voids which will have a ltering action while permitting sufficient flow to exceed the contamnationv rate of the'engine. A further object of my invention is thevprovision of a filter'element vvhich` includes afeontainer, said container having inlet and outletv ber, of filtering voidsis provided in the filter body.

In addition,the,total length of the voids isfar in excess ofthe lter area presented by convenf tionalilter bodies.

'An additionalpobject of my invention isl the lprovision cfa. filter element of the aforementione'dtype which is'ada'pted y for use in iltering lubricants under low little resistancey to the flow of lubricants there# through and because of the largearea of filtering surface made available by the filteringvoids.

Another Aobject of my invention is the.,pro

visionof alter element which includes aconf` tai er,-l saidfcontainer'jhaving "a .bottom wallandl .alipmralnw :Tinieti'arji'd ouuetforine'eaf-seing 'adapted to receive a plurality of Wads of filter to have an effective iilter-` a plurality. of superimposed4 pressure .because it. .offers material which are superimposed, one upon the other, in a compressed state and which have their longitudinal axes arranged in substantial parallelism with the bottom wall of the container to present a maximum filter area to the flow of lubricant.

An additional object of my invention is the provision of a filter element of the aforementioned type in which the superimposedandy compressed wads of iilter material are provided with a coating of a chemical precipitant to cause the coagulation of colloidal dispersions in the lubricant and to augment the mechanical lter action of the wads of the filtermaterial.

Other objects and advantagesof. .my.inven tion Will be apparent from the following specification and the accompanying ..drawin g s, which are for the purpose of illustration only; 'and Yin which:

Fig. 1 ment constructed tion;

Fig. 2 is a transverse, sectionaLview-taken from the broken line 212. o fu Fig. Lg, y

Fig. 3 is aperspectiveviewbf one type of wad of my invention; an d u Fig. 4 is a perspective.viewshowing another type of Wad.whichcan.beutilized in the formation ofthe ilterbodymfiny invention.

Referring to the fd rattlings,4

is a vertical, sectional View of a iilter elein accordance with my-invenand particularly to Figs.,1 ..and 2 thereof, .I ,show `acylinclrical filter element I which is sposed in a container or housing I I, the yp'eripheral wall ,of ,the .housing b eingspaced from theelement to permit flow ,of o il therebetween. The .housing v II .includes an inletfitting I2.and an.outlet.iitti'ngY I3 to .which may be connected .suitable let andoutlet ylines cion-shown) .wiimhmay'rorexamp1a` rempart of theoil circulating .syste'rno'tan internal combustion engine. f hejiltenelementgl .includes an outlet iitting I4 whichf may 4b c thleadedly inserted into. one v-end .of the ..o'i`itlet fitting I3 on the `housing I I the fitting ,I3 ,providing the .sole

connection ,between .the Cnisttigl and the .filter element. so that the..element may.be installed 4L,

and/orremovedreadily andso that the flowof lubricant Willnot beiiiipeded'.

The filter element, .I I'l` includes. 'a container I 6 having a perforated .or fforaminous yperipheral wall I1 and a `foristminous bottom ,wall I8. .Disposed centrally of the., container I vE and having its longitudinalaxis substantially coincident with the longitudinal axisof said. [container is atubular member I 9,. Said tbillarle'rnber-beilig 'DIO- vided with a plurality of orifices]'Il whichpermit the passage of iiltered lubricaiitffr'oin.theinterior of the :ontaineixlv to the outletflittings 14, and I3, respectivelmof .the lter element Ill and the housing I I. 'I'hus, the Qopenings ,in .the foraminous 'peripheral ,wallfll ofgthacontainerl' constitute the inlet openings of thecontainer .while the orifices 2I inthe centrally located Vtubular member I9 constitute the outletppenings thereof Positioned vadjacentJ thej'ram'nous. bottom Wall I8 ci thecontairierlsgis Qttm platen. said bottoni plate ha' rig a ce, tral1ylocated opening z3 pmvieeutneriein-to iierinit niezend of the tube I9 tobe dispose thereinincontiguity to theupperportion of theoutletgfltting I4 of the nltereleinentlll. A top plate 2 4 is `dispo'sedadja cent the foraminous top wa1 l 25 of the f i lter,`elirient II I`,said tqpjwall 'and' ,tennl 6.11MB?- ina centraily'lo'catedgo ne?! aua ceive the upperendo'f the tubula This would .occur because,

The bottom and top plates 22 and 24, respectively, may be slidably mounted on the tube I9 to permit shrinkage of the iilter body, to be described below, to be accommodated for although such shrinkage, which is characteristic of conventional lilters, has not as yet been encountered because of the compression of the iilter body. If the filter body, shrinks ,the oil pressure will force the top` and bottom plates, respectively, toward the top and bottom of the filter body. Positioned on the top Wall 25 of the container I 6 is a valve means 28 which is constituted, in part, by a valve member 29 supported upon a thennostaticg bimetallic arm 30 which is secured lat oneendtozthestop wall 25, as by means of -rivets 3I. 'The' valve member 29 is adapted to cooperate .withavalve seat constituted by the periphery of an opening 33 formed in the center of thel top wall 25 of the container I5, said opening communicating with the tubular member I9 at theftop thereof;to provide abyfpass for the lubricating liuid, to prevent the blow-out of the filter element, I0. -I- Igoweven it is not intended that the invention belimited tothe particular valvefineans shownsince any conventional type of valve may be used andit may be disposed in any portion of the lilter element or housing.

When the internal combustion engine with which .the filterV element I ll is associated is started, the lubricatingoilithereof is frequently f oundto ybe quite ,viscous, particularly when the vehicle in which theyinternalcombustion engine is located is operating in 1ocalities where low temperaturesprevail. `Under such circumstances, thelvpassagecf this viscous fluid into the filter element I m ight causetheblowfout of the filter and Athe Adestruction thereof, together with the passagepf the contents thereofintothe lubricating system of theenginewith deleterious results.

v unlessthevalve means 2 8 were provided, the only outlet-furthe lubricating oil would be through the filter element I0. However, under such conditions of low temperature the,-thermost atic arm .30 maintains the Valve member ..29 out nl contact vwith the valve seat constituted by the peripheral area surrounding the 0p6111 1 g.32 andthe .viscid lubricating fluid is.by.passed throughthetubular member Ill to the-outlet fitting I 4 ofthe lilter element Ill. As the temperature of the lubricating oil increases with .the operation ofthe engine, it finally reaches a temperatureiwhereby the bimetallic arm 3Q causes the valve m'emberg to be seated on the valve seat and .thus prevents the cY-Passing of the lubricating oil throughthe tubular member I9 andcauses Vthe Alubricating oil to be directed throughthe nlterelementIIl.

Disposed within .the chamber constituted by theperipheralside v/ all Il' of the container I6 and the peripheral wall of the tubular member I9 is a iilter body33, the .lubricating fluid being filtered through the .filter body 33 to remove contaminants therefrom. The filter body 33 includes aplurality of pellets l orwads 35 of filter material and thus constitutes acompacted mass of ycrumpled paper which, .in its crumpled form, presents a large multiplicity of sharply dened folded and free =edges lof `the wads as well as pointlikeintersections of the edges, all in random arrangement. The material forming the wadsis preferably of a fabricor fibrous nature toresist disintegration by the oil or other liquid, and ,met .fier ayalablpper., uitableonuse-inltering a partisular lif uid. Te'stshaveindicated that the best results'are obtainable using a quality-of paper having an unfinished or unglazed surface. Preferably, thelaref'oije,- the Wads are formed of newsprint paper-or100% ground paper stockvof about newspaper weight l In referring to the paper of the wads as being crumpled, it is Adesired to distinguish clearly between paper thatlis crumpled or crushed in a manner and to a degree which transforms the sheet into a body `which assumes the rgeneral shape of a solid geometrical body by reason of thepaper being creased and folded v,onor about itself, as contrasted with paper vconverted toother forms, such as a shredded condition. Whereas, the latter is ineiiective with respect to the retention of subcolloidal carb-ons and dirts, the-paper inthe crumpled form contemplated by y tion is highly eiiective in removing such foreign particles. I further distinguish-the present filter medium from lothers employing a paper or fabric in a -condition such .that theoil is caused to pass only through the lter oifabric. The present Iiltermediumfunctions in--a manner such that theoil .does not only pass through the crumpled paper sheets themselves, but also past and in` contact with siirifees-` l Y. The `wads 3,5 provide a plurality of interstices r voids 34 0n e the ysurfaces and in the interiors thereof. v The inthe .wade-3,5 and a largenumber of suchvoids the folded and irregularized voi-ds 34 are constituted by folds is provided in each wad. Each of the voids provides a rela-tively large filtering area and thus the iilter element is able to effectively lter lubricants under low pressure. Y

The crumpled surfaceconiiguration of the wads 35 A'presents a. large numberv of folded and free edges 34', all in random arrangement with pointlilreirregularities at 34 Wherethe edges intercept.: Between the. points and -edges the iiltering tion` ofthe wads in the-containerd,A compressed somewhat to forma'fairly compact mass retainedbetween the plates 22 and 24, as shown in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings, and to provide a filter body 33 which is of substantially homogeneous character throughout. The manner in co-pending application,

Serial No. 206,105, now abandoned. Howeven' it; should 'ce noted marian@ f ctrhat inciner-` vidual wads yare placed under lcompression and are so retained in such compressed condition by means of the top wall 25 not only Iprovides a iilter body 33 of substantially homogeneous .character and of equal and uniform filteringcharactershown inpFig. 3

allow vfor @the shrinkage in' dimensions-or -the collapse of adjacent Wads. Thus,`the filter body 33,has anu-inherent resilient characteristic Yiinpartcd ytoit-@bythe compression .of the vvads constituting the iilter body and this compression of the Wads thereof t-o accommodate for changes in the characteristics lof .the Wads during the use thereof.

In addition, the resilient characteristic of the iilterf body 33 permits the iilter body to resist blow-out induced bythe increased Viscidity of the iiuid iiltered thereby since the filter body, due to its slightlyresilient nature, is able to absorb, to a certain" extent, the load imposed by fluids of increased viscidity `which would result in the blow-.out conventional filter bodies. In addition, when yconventional Iilter bodies are .subjected to continuous use, there is a tendency for bypass channels to become established through the iilter body, ythe by-pass channels being progressively. enlargedlas the liquid is iiltered therethrough; thus'resulting eventually in the considerable.amounts-.of liquid through the filter without; the iiltration thereof. filter lbody constructed inaccordance with my invention, the tendency to create bypass channels which will .ultimately result in the ley-.passingv of fluid is eliminated because of the resilient characteristic of the individual wads constituting the iilter body. Thus, the voids and interstices for the, liquid cannot because of the Icompression.exerted upon each of the .Wadswby the presence of contiguous Wadev Whichqcontinually tend to retain the' adjacent wads in a vpredetermined configuration and which willalso absorb slight collapses and physical` changesin adjacentwads.

The provision of the voids 34 by the Wads 35 in suoli large numbers and in such great length, perrriitsy theprovisionof a iilter body which is particularlyadapted for liltering lubricants under.

loivpressure because'the filter body 33 ciiers a miniiniini.v of resistance to the iiow .of lubricant. Furthermore, theextreme lengths of 4the voids Min thewads 35 permit a mechanical settling`4 the lubricant as. it owfs In addition, particles of imout of the impurities in through the voids.

purities deposited in the kvoids serve to attract' similar particles entrained' in the lubricant as it iiows through the voids. The impurities are and voids within the Good .results crumpled paper have been obtained using wadsof various sizes, particularly'within the' range of about indiameter. 'The size of the paper sheet utilized informing each of the desired, "othercontrolling factors being thetype applied to the r deposited "in .thegfilter element housing. .'7 obtain `wads-` Whose ultimatejs'izes .are approxi mately withinthe range off 1A in. to .l ijn. in -diameter', 4sheetsof nev'vsprir'it`l paper andjother types of' llter'imaterialsuch as blotting paper, kraft paper, sulfte paper, deademng felt, etc.,

l/2 in. in diameter.

permits a certain amountof expansion Icy-passing of However, in i a become j excessively enlarged 1/15 in. to 1 in.v

v Wads is governed, to a.v certain extent; bythe. ultimate size of the wad As previously indicated, itis necessary, in order to avoid by-pass channels between 4the individual wads, that the wads be compressed, one upon the other, sufficiently to eliminate the possibility of the existence of, orl formation of. such by-pass channels. However, excessive pressures great `enough to eliminate the filtering voids and interstices in the bodies of the wads must not be utilized. In compressing wads formed from 1 sq. ft. of newsprint paper, I have utilized pressures of approximately 200 p. s. i. and found that the filtering characteristics of a filter element so formed have been maintained without excessive by-passing. With other sizes of wade and with different types of filtering material, I have utilized pressures extending in the range from 50 p. s. i. to 500 p. s. i.

I claim as myinvention:

l1. An oil filtering element capable of removing colloidally suspended `particles in oil being filtered, comprising a receptacle containing an oil-passing compacted mass of pellets each having a dimension through the pellet of at least about one-quarter inch and being formed of newsprint paper crumpled to present sharply defined outer folded edges and oil penetrable voids formed by the paper folds and extending deeply into the pellet between said edges and between the inter-contacting surfaces of the pellets, the oil being filtered with the surfaces of the paper and carbonaceous particles being depositable from the oil on opposite surfaces of the paper within the voids.

2. An oil filter element as defined in claim 1, having a generally cylindrical receptacle containing apertures through which the oil fiows transversely of the receptacle axis into the pellet mass.

3. An oil filter element capable of removing colloidally suspended particles in oil being filtered comprising a receptacle containing an oilpassing compacted mass of pellets each formed of a single sheet of newsprint paper having a surface attraction for the particles, said attractive surface being formed by having the paper crumpled initially into generally ball-shaped form within the size range of about one-quarter toY one inch in diameter, each pellet having outer folded edges and oil penetrable voids formed by the `paper folds and extending into the pellet between said edges, the oil being filtered passing over and in contact with the surfaces of the paperand carbonaceous particles being deposited from the oil on opposite surfaces of the paper within the voids.

4. In an oil filter element for removing contaminants and colloidally suspended particles from an oil being filtered, the combination of: as'receptacle; and an oil passing compacted mass of pellets in said receptacle, each of said pellets being formed from a sheet of paper having an unfinished surface and crumpled to present sharply defined outer folded edges and oil penetrable voids formed by the paper folds and extending deeply into said pellet between said edges, the oil being filtered by passing over and in contact with the surfaces of the paper defining said voids, and carbonaceous particles passing over and in contact and othercontaminants being depositable from the oil on said surfaces within said voids.

l5. In an oil filter element for removing contaminants and colloidally suspended particles from an oil being filtered, the combination of a receptacle; and an oil passing compacted mass of pellets in said receptacle, each of said pellets being formed from a single sheet of paper having an unfinished surface, said pellets being crumpled into generally ball-shaped form and having outer folded edges and oil penetrable voids defined by the paper folds and extending into the 4pellet between said edges, the oil being filtered passing through said voids and in contact with the surfaces of the paper defining said voids -to deposit upon said surface carbonaceous particles and other contaminants contained in the oil.

6. In an oil filter element for removing contaminants and colloidally suspended particles from an oil being filtered, the combination of: a receptacle; and an oil passing compacted mass of pellets in said receptacle, each of said pellets being formed from a sheet of newsprint paper crumpled to present sharply defined outer folded edges and oil penetrable voids formed by the paper folds and extending deeply into said pellet between said edges, the oil being filtered by passing over and in Contact with the surfaces of the paper defining said voids, and carbonaceous particles and other contaminants being depositable from the oil on said surfaces within said voids.

7. In `ari oil lter element for removing contaminants and colloidally suspended particles from an oil being filtered, the combination of: a receptacle; and ari oil passing compacted mass of pellets in said receptacle, each of said pellets being formed from a single sheet of newsprint paper, said pellets being crumpled into generally ball-shaped form and having outer folded edges and oil penetrable voids defined by the paper folds and extending into the pellet between said edges, the oil being filtered passing through said voids and in contact with the surfaces of the paper defining said voids to deposit upon said surfaces carbonaceous particles and other contaminants contained in the oil.

8. An oil filter element as defined in claim 4 in which said receptacle is of generally cylindrical configuration and contains apertures through which the oil flows transversely of the receptacle axis into the pellet mass.

9. An oil filter element as defined in claim 5 in which said pellets are treated with a chemical precipitant.

10. An oil filter element as defined in claim 6 in which said receptacle is of generally cylindrical configuration and contains apertures through which the oil flows transversely of the receptacle axis into the pellet mass.

JOI-IN K. RUSSELL.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

